I will be crowned king

Although Carl Bain was extremely reluctant, in the end he could only watch Anson and Lisa, who were surrounded by the Guard Company, leave the station and head towards the wilderness on the outskirts of Beluga Harbor.

It is said to be wilderness, but in fact it still does not leave the actual control area of ​​Beluga Port; after all, a port city with a population of 40,000 cannot feed such a large population by fishing alone; just like Carindia Port, there are At least one-half of the population is scattered around farms, forest farms and mines.

Although Beluga Port has a fishing ground that is the envy of even the three North Sea countries, her main source of food is still the grain, dairy products and meat products provided by the farm.

Unlike Carindia Port, Beluga Port rarely has scattered villages like Hantu - or in fact, it can be said that there are none - and more of them are large farms with fixed settlements.

In the eyes of many immigrants who came one after another, hoping to start a new life in the colony, this was a God-given land. The land was so fertile that if you sow a handful of seeds, lush fruits would grow; there were uncultivated virgin lands everywhere. , as long as you work hard, you can have a better life that you can never imagine in your hometown.

This is not the case at all.

First of all, starting from scratch to reclaim wasteland is a very hard job. It is impossible for a lone colonist to complete it. It requires at least three to four people, or even a dozen people to work closely together to have any hope.

Even if the reclamation is successful, how to survive in the uninhabited wilderness and wait until the first batch of fruits mature is still a huge problem; the question is how much energy is left after spending a whole day cultivating the wilderness to find food to make up for the physical energy consumed? ?

Even if these problems can be overcome, there are still wild beasts that raid the cultivated land, unknown plagues, crop seeds that are not suitable for the soil and water, completely uncertain weather, and other colonists lurking in the dark, waiting for opportunities to steal the fruits of your cultivation...

The lone colonist was lucky to survive one battle royale after another, let alone successful reclamation.

In this environment, the group-centered farm was the mainstream of the Beluga Colony.

These farms started with a dozen or dozens of people, and then gradually attracted sporadic colonists to join; they collectively reclaimed a piece of land, and in order to save materials and fuel for heating, they lived collectively in unified longhouses or buildings.

The farm has independent barns, mills, stables, and blacksmith shops... all the necessities for daily life and work are available. The harvest income of the year is distributed according to the amount of labor and a certain hierarchical system; and then it continues to absorb foreign populations and continue to expand and cultivate the land. Area…over and over again, over and over again.

And these farms not only own their own land, many even own their own "industries" in Beluga Port, operating fishing, forestry, controlling a mine, or operating ocean trade with other farms and chambers of commerce. …Many of them have seats on the Beluga Harbor Council.

The most successful small number have even "evolved" from ordinary colonists to human beings, owning their own farms and chambers of commerce, and controlling important trade channels somewhere.

In this regard, Speaker Harold and the Wetzler family are relatively representative examples.

The characteristic of this kind of farm is that it has strong organizational power and high productivity and management level. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for Beluga Port to become so prosperous in just fifty years. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to control and is extremely independent. .

Therefore, Anson’s plan is to find a new piece of wasteland to reclaim near Beluga Harbor and mark it as the Storm Division’s “estate”—coupled with the military logistics provided by the Rune family, the Storm Division can become truly self-sufficient. .

Of course, it is not realistic to achieve this in the short term, but it will at least give the Stormtroopers a means of bargaining to prevent them from being coerced by the White Whale Port Council or the scattered farms.

What, what will the soldiers do if they don’t know how to farm?

At least in the Kingdom of Clovis, this problem absolutely does not exist - first of all, 99% of Clovis soldiers are farmers. Even if they have stopped working for many years, they are not really incompetent; even if they have completely forgotten , it won’t be slow to learn again.

Besides, who said that when the army reclaims wasteland, it must be done by soldiers?

As long as the preliminary construction work is completed, we can find ways to recruit immigrants from the mainland or the three North Sea countries for subsequent work, and let the new colonists be responsible for the subsequent farming.

Isn't it attractive enough that a colonist with nothing can get a job with a sufficient salary and a secure life as soon as he lands?

Anson thought this plan was perfect.

What’s even better is that as long as we can successfully build reclamation farms in Beluga Port and even the Ice Dragon Fjord area, many of the next things will fall into place - control of surrounding areas, recruitment and expansion of military non-staff personnel, and control of surrounding indigenous people. Even the attack and suppression of colonial forces...

In short, farming is never just farming, it can also be expansion; farm settlements are not necessarily just farms, they can also be well-disguised fortresses.

Passing through the snow-covered wilderness, the group arrived at their destination.

Under the quiet winter sunshine, what Anson saw in front of him were fields connected by streets on both sides of the road. In the distance, he could see neat vegetable gardens surrounded by fences; rows of fruit trees demarcated the boundaries, as if they were fortifications. Road and "castle" soldiers.

The "fortress" in the center of the entire field is a majestic mill; surrounding the mill are a "palace" composed of fully filled barns and sheds housing draft horses and cattle. The long houses built with mud and stones in a row along the road are her "city wall". Behind the lively wall is the public kitchen, with wisps of cooking smoke rising under the blue sky.

This is a most standard "colonial farm".

The moment he saw this scene in front of him, Anson even felt that something in his body was activated.

Even if he doesn't talk about his previous life, most of the memories of the "former Anson" who was born in the countryside of the central province are about the countryside and manors. Farming is not unfamiliar to him at all.

Since we want to reclaim wasteland, the first step is of course to conduct on-site inspections of the more successful local farms and absorb their successful experiences; understand which crops have high yields, the characteristics of local farm tools, the laws of climate change, and the construction of irrigation systems... These are basic operations.

Bursts of bells came from the direction of the barn in the distance - just as the group of people arrived, the people in the farm had already discovered their presence.

The villagers in the farm are dressed in coats that are not new, but definitely not shabby. They wear various hats, boots in the mud and gloves on their hands. They look very warm at first glance. ; Both adults and children have very rosy complexions, without any trace of malnutrition.

Facing the sudden appearance of the Clovis army, these villagers seemed very nervous. They crowded into a very cramped group in front of the farm. Their eyes looking at Anson and the military flag behind him were full of uneasiness.

While the two sides were in a stalemate, a young man suddenly walked out of the crowd on the opposite side. Wearing an exquisite brown windbreaker and a bowler hat of the same color, he came to Anson with a smile on his face.

"Salute to you, the garrison commander of Beluga Port and this distinguished lady." The young man took off his hat and bowed respectfully to Anson and Lisa:

"It is truly an honor for us to have such an unexpected visit from you two!"

"Do you know me?" Anson was a little curious.

"No...but my uncle told me that the garrison commander of Beluga Port has arrived and brought a local army with him." The young man said truthfully:

"In addition, he described your appearance to me, plus the army behind you, so I..."

Ansen nodded clearly: "Then your uncle is..."

"The Speaker of Beluga Port, Harold Lefkas." The young man smiled.

Um? Anson was stunned for a moment: "This is also Speaker Harold's farm?"

Could it be that the information collected by the little clerk is wrong, and that Harold's power extends far beyond Moby Dick Harbor City?

"Oh, no...that's not the case!" The young man quickly explained:

"He is my uncle, and we have a very good relationship, but this is not the farm of the Lefkas family, but our collective - I am just the deacon of the farm elected by everyone, not hers. Owner."

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Boney Lefkas. I am the steward of this farm this year. I am responsible for handling all kinds of affairs in the farm. If you have anything you need to know or give me, please feel free to tell me. We will do whatever I can do!"

The young man smiled very attentively, with a somewhat flattering expression.

Deacon this year? Anson became even more curious: "Do the positions in your farm still have tenure?"

"Of course, and it changes every year." Boney said in a matter-of-fact tone:

"The farm is not a person, but a property owned by the entire collective. Everyone is just a part of the entire farm. Any position must be successfully elected, not hereditary."

"Then how to elect?"

Lisa on the side suddenly asked.

"Uh... Mainly through voting." Boney scratched his scalp, leaned over and the girl chuckled:

"That is, as long as there are more people who support you in taking this position, you can become the person responsible for this work - for example, the position of deacon I hold now is through..."

"So whoever is liked by more people will be able to do what they like?" Lisa asked loudly again:

"So even if this person doesn't know anything, as long as many, many people like him and many, many people are afraid of him, he can be the leader of everyone?"

"Uh..." Boney's smile froze on his face.

Feeling that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Anson quickly changed the topic: "This is our first time in the colony. Can you show us the farm?"

"Ah, of course!" Boni quickly agreed and walked in front diligently:

"Please come with me!"

The group of people followed closely and entered the farm along the road.

After entering the manor, everyone discovered that it was even more spectacular than it looked on the outside - neat long houses, well-proportioned sheds, pottery workshops, blacksmith shops, tanning workshops... scattered in an orderly manner. In some scattered corners of the farm, simple division of labor forms a complete ecological closed loop.

It can be said that except for salt, alcoholic beverages and some products with relatively complex process chains, the entire farm is almost completely self-sufficient, providing a considerable amount of food supply to Beluga Port.

"Currently, the three main crops we have here are wheat, potatoes and oats." Boney introduced as he walked:

"This farm is still very young. It has only been ten years since its establishment. It has not been able to start growing other more diverse crops - those farms that have been cultivated for more than twenty years have even begun to grow cabbage and sugar beets. .”

"How about the output?" Anson asked casually.

"The first year is not very good, but it will gradually increase from the second year - especially for mature farmland, the yield per acre can almost reach three to four times the initial level!" Speaking of this, the young man's eyes changed. There was a hint of gratitude:

"This also depends on Uncle Harold's help. Otherwise, a farm like ours that does not have particularly sufficient manpower would often take more than ten years to reach our current level!"

"Chancellor Harold?"

"Yes, although it is just some help within his ability, Uncle Harold has been working hard to support settlers like us and help the immigrants who have just arrived - he is really a good person, and he has almost three Two-thirds of the farms have received help from him!"

Anson mused.

"Uncle Harold mentioned you to us. He said that you are a very ambitious garrison commander. You not only hope to maintain security in the colony, but also set up industry here and develop the land that belongs to us Clovis people." Young The man went on to say:

"Since Uncle Harold is willing to believe in you, then we will support you unreservedly - please rest assured that this farm will do its best to provide supplies for the garrison."

"As long as we have one potato, one beet, and one piece of bread, we will never let the warriors fighting for Beluga Harbor go hungry!"

Just when the young man made his vow to Anson, the sound of someone falling suddenly came from behind the group.

Anson turned around subconsciously and saw a man with ropes tied to his hands and feet falling in the cowshed, twitching in pain among a pile of cow dung and mud, as if he had been completely frozen.

He was wearing a piece of clothing that looked like a sack, and his scarred body could be seen from the trouser legs and collar. In the snow-covered Beluga Harbor in December, this man was actually only wearing a single suit, and his hands and feet were bare. Working in the shed.

"This is……"

"Oh, this is a local aboriginal." The young man introduced calmly:

"Our slave."